Sindorel Felclar II
"'We Never Forget.' My family's words. Do you have any idea what they mean, my dearest Merrick? No? No, of course not, I do apologize. Allow me to give you a demonstration to die for." -Sindorel Felclar to Lord Merrick Bracken, moments before the latter's death. =Description= ---- Observations of Sindorel Felclar at court display an impeccably dressed, ageless man of an unknown age. He could be in his twenties or thirties, and not a line mars his smooth and angular countenance. Fashioned always in a rakish pomp, completed by flaring spills of lace at his shirt-cuffs and silken cloaks trimmed in gold thrown over his shoulders, the Lord is known for wearing dark hues of gray, violet, black, and scarlet that so deepen the midnight black of his thick hair, which is often parted to the left and concealing one eye in shadow. The aristocrat stands slender and tall, cresting six feet and certainly lacking in girth. His smiles are charming and knowing, mirroring the flickering glint in his sharp jade eyes. When those eyes fall upon the nobles at court, they often describe Sindorel's gaze as penetrating, flaying, and damning. For all his intimidating stature and sometimes obnoxious flair for the dramatic, few who know the name 'Felclar' can deny the efficacious terror Sindorel brings to Stormwind (and indeed, the realms beyond). For all of that, however, the Lord of House Felclar does have a reputation for unusual bouts of generosity. Based on the grandiose amounts of gold spent towards public funding, orphanages, and security efforts across the Kingdom of Stormwind, it's not difficult to assume that this ambiguity ''does ''care concerning the welfare of the State. Though it is no secret that Sindorel, and indeed House Felclar in its totality, rarely offers kindness freely. Because of this, many members on the House of Nobles begin to wonder what angle the notoriously scheming Sindorel will ask in return. =Recent Events= ---- After years of keeping House Felclar sequestered save for engaging in the Wars in Northrend, Pandaria, and Draenor, Sindorel Felclar made himself publicly known at the onset of the Gavenstead-Alterac conflict. Months had passed since the Lord had frequented Stormwind City itself, and just as his political opponents begin to soften in their security on the House of Nobles he made his return. For reasons unknown and seemingly arbitrarily, Sindorel Felclar sealed an alliance with the Archduchy of Gavenstead, becoming an influential benefactor for the northerners. The Archduchy was quick to take advantage of House Felclar's bloated coffers to begin developing farms, and likewise Sindorel used his decades of political experience to fend off many would-be opponents of Gavenstead. Perhaps most notable was the secret compact he made between House Felclar and Countess Zaria Blackmoore -- both Sindorel and Zaria worked in the shadows to establish some modicum of peace between Gavenstead and Alterac. Perhaps with some suspicion, Sindorel (and the troops he had stationed with him) survived the rapid dissolution of Gavenstead unscathed. He made no protest when various groups moved in to scour, conquer, and clean what lands were left behind by Gavenstead's fall. However, it was later revealed that a powerful menace awakened by the Felclars of antiquity once again stirred. Though many details of the conflict were muddled, it is common knowledge that bizarre creatures began spilling out of planar gates into the Swamp of Sorrows, slaughtering the Felclar populace that lived on the coastal regions there. After months of bloody conflict, and many unanswered calls of aid, Sindorel Felclar (and his House) disappeared in a magical cataclysm that was felt as far away as Dalaran. A single burst of so much mana at once rocked the ley-lines in the immediate vicinity, and tidal waves from the seemingly vaporized Manse de Felclar (the archipelago seat of House Felclar) ruined any chances of the House repopulating the coast. What survivors there were (some 2-3,000 men, women, and children) retreated to the lands of Zaria R. Blackmoore, broken by the massacre they had witnessed. Most were not present at the mysterious destruction of the mystical Phoenix Spire, but those that were refuse to speak of it. Some, despite healers' best attempts, succumbed to death of unknown causes. There is a marked gloom surrounding these survivors, and a deep abiding depression - as far as the Lords of Felclar went, Sindorel the Second was not so cruel as many of his predecessors. Of all things, the man was mourned by his people. In the months that followed, Sindorel was presumed dead, and only very recently has he revealed himself to the Everlast Accord. It would seem that the trauma of losing his home, and the apparent sacrifice he made to save Azeroth from the evil that plagued House Felclar, has left the Lord unhinged and raving. He has thus been decried a menace of great concern by Lord Dilan Ravenshield, with threat of execution should Sindorel ever be captured. What he said or did to earn such animosity is unclear, but one thing is certain -- if a man of Sindorel Felclar's power has fallen from grace, it bodes ill for the realm at large. Early Life Born to a family shrouded in mystery, cruel business tactics, and an alarming propensity for magic (as far as humans went), Sindorel was groomed from infancy to be a Lord of great cunning. Sired by Doriel Felclar III and his wife, Melynda Felclar (formerly Melynda Falcresten, forced into marriage with House Felclar for political reasons), both of whom were mages of great repute, it was no surprise when at an early age Sindorel began displaying magical aptitude. The Felclar family was notorious for having unusually gifted magics in their blood -- and Sindorel was no exception. The rumors at court that they had drops of Quel'Dorei blood cannot be proven, and the Felclars themselves never offer enlightenment on the subject. For this reason, they often trained their own cadre of elite sorcerer-warriors --the Spellbinders-- using unorthodox methods of magic. Unlike most budding magi of the time, Sindorel was not sent to Dalaran and the Kirin Tor to study the secrets of the Arcane, but was instead taken on by a newly elected Spellbinder, Porm'tal Ruvuizin. Sindorel and Porm'tal would grow to form a close bond (with Porm'tal later becoming the High Wizard of House Felclar), and the young Felclar stunned his mentor and parents alike at how swiftly he learned the arts Arcane. Briefly, Doriel Felclar believed that sending his son as a ward to other Houses would curry good relations with the other branches of nobility. Sindorel, reluctantly torn from his books and his studies (though many of these he brought with him), was sent to Lord Jason of House Bracken. Here, the bedrock of a deep-seated animosity between Felclar and Bracken began, as the Lord Jason's eldest son Merrick deemed the willowy, bookish Sindorel worth antagonizing. With the other wards and Merrick's brothers surrounding him, Sindorel could do little but cower as they taunted, threw jeers, and ultimately abused him. Sindorel's only solace was in the locked quarters of his room at House Bracken, where he would light magical flames and dream dreams of setting Merrick and all the rest on fire. (Dreams that would, decades later, come to fruition). Sindorel returned, at the age of fourteen, to his family at the Phoenix Spire, an immense tower of soaring heights and palatial stature situated on the largest of nineteen islands called the Manse de Felclar. Located some dozen miles off the coast of the Black Morass, in the Forbidding Sea, the Manse was protected by magic and location. Great reefs and rocks protected the lagoons and vistas of the Manse from naval assault (which had proven a great boon during the First War, of which the House survived mostly intact save for casualties on the mainland). The welcome he received was not warm, as internal strife had rocked the House while he had been gone. Sindorel's uncle, Tyartol Felclar IV, had grown bolder in his demands for more power with Sindorel being sent away. This stemmed from a conflict of inheritance between Doriel's sole heir, Sindorel, and Tyartol's two sons (Tyartol and Doriel were twins, with Doriel being the elder by minutes). Doriel, Tyartol argued, could not prove that he was indeed the oldest. Complicating these political conflicts was a dark secret that had laid dormant inside of Sindorel since birth. There is some speculation as to how much Doriel knew of his son's plight, and what steps he might have taken to avoid the conflicts to sprout because of it, but what's clear is that Doriel and Melynda became aware before Sindorel did of a sinister spirit sleeping inside of him. The desiccated spirit of an Eredar, Magderith, had latched onto the infant Sindorel at his birth from beyond Azeroth. How this came to be was never discovered, though Sindorel himself postulates that the Phoenix Spire's unusual planar magics could have weakened the folds between planes enough for Magderith to penetrate Azeroth, if only in spirit, and assault an unknown baby's mind. Thinking to spare their son from becoming a vessel of a demon, Doriel called Sindorel to his study with the intention of giving him a soft, clean death. The demon within, however, was not so ready to surrender his charge. Whispering the words to a secret, dark spell to the young Sindorel, Magderith shielded his vessel with a barrier of necrotic power. Stunned, Doriel was unprepared for the sorcery that his son unleashed. Sindorel cannot remember exactly what the spell he used accomplished, but he recalled that his father's corpse had lost all moisture, and he was little more than a sack of bones against the carpeted floor. Not a drop of blood had been spilled. Though Sindorel did grieve, he had become pragmatic and calloused after years of abuse from the Brackens, and had developed an animosity for his father for sending him there in the first place. Deeming the murder as an act of self-defense, Sindorel appealed to his mother Melynda for aid, as he knew his uncle Tyartol would soon take advantage of Doriel's death and institute himself as the new Lord Felclar. Sindorel was found wanting for aid, however, as Melynda was found days later with her wrists slit, dried tears on her dress beside the bloodstains. Recorded history (and indeed, Sindorel himself will not go into detail of the account) does not relate ''what ''happened during the bloody insurrection within House Felclar. Tyartol and his sons were not so skilled at magic as Doriel and his son, which most nobles at court attribute to Sindorel's surprising triumph over his uncle and cousins. But the details are likely much darker, for the blood spilled in the halls of the Phoenix Spire haunted the soldiers and servants for years to come. In the aftermath of so much death, Sindorel, at the age fourteen, became the newly declared Lord Felclar, Lord Magister of the Phoenix Spire. Behind his back and behind closed doors, the House of Nobles and other minor nobility had taken to calling him the "Last Felclar," for in the coup started by Tyartol ''every ''Felclar had died save for Sindorel himself. This raised (and still raises) many questions regarding how much of the bloodshed was in self defense, for the deaths of his relatives all but secured Sindorel's position as Lord. For this reason, when Sindorel first entered the halls of the House of Nobles, he was met only with solemn silence -- and fear for what the Last Felclar would bring. Dalaran and the Kirin Tor ---- Determined to be away from the darkness of his childhood, plagued by the death that hung fresh in the air of the Phoenix Spire, Sindorel appealed to the wizards of Dalaran for enrollment. Though older than most of the youth that entered the academies of the magocracy, his training with the Spellbinders of House Felclar placed him leagues ahead of even most apprentices in Dalaran. TDespite likely being off-put by the bloody history of his House and person, Dalaran accepted Sindorel as a student in their ranks. In his absence Sindorel instated the young, strapping Lord Angeil Safornen of House Safornen and the Lady Danica Le'banc as his regents of the House. The two had proven their loyalty to Sindorel during the coup, and each knew the dangers of earning young Sindorel's ire... they had witnessed it first-hand. As expected Sindorel advanced beyond his peers (and even those far older than him) in study and skill, and not in magical acuity alone. By the age of fifteen Sindorel had penned various treatises, especially on a subject that fascinated him early on in his time at Dalaran -- planar theory. He believed that the secrets of the world could be found by archaelogists and the dwarves, but it was Sindorel's desire to explore the secrets of the ''cosmos. ''Many archmagi and graduated scholars commented on the young Felclar's zeal and passion for realms beyond Azeroth (most considered this to be little more than a distraction for the trauma he had experienced), and were astonished by the understanding of advanced, esoteric lore he displayed in his writings. Outpacing those his age, Sindorel would very swiftly rise through the ranks and graduate from the rank of novice. The High Elf Kel'tor Sorrowstar took Sindorel on as his apprentice, in part due to his friendship to Doriel Felclar, but the archmage's goal was to glean the truth of what transpired in the Phoenix Spire from the Last Felclar. Not one to be fooled, Sindorel caught on to the High Elf's probing early on in his apprenticeship and rebuffed the archmage for his prying. Taken aback, but also ashamed, Kel'tor would from then on focus only on training Sindorel to become a full-fledged graduate of Dalaran. It did not take long for Sindorel to prove to Kel'tor that he had mastered all he needed to be considered a mage of Dalaran. He was raised into the vaunted ranks of the Kirin Tor at the age of seventeen, a shining example of academia and intellect -- and, for many of the archmagi, a threat. For in his years as a mere student Sindorel wrote enough trivia on planar travel and the school of Conjuration to outweigh many of those that considered themselves experts in the field. From then on the young Felclar would be watched very closely. Rise to Power Sindorel did not return to his seat at the Phoenix Spire upon graduating -- the libraries of Dalaran contained more magical esoterica and planar phenomena than the vaults at the Manse did, and he meant to explore all he could, for as long as he could. Once graduated from the apprentices Sindorel spent months cooped up in the Violet Citadel before departing without warning, and abruptly at that. It was for this reason that he narrowly avoided the Scourge of Lordaeron and the subsequent annihilation of Dalaran -- upon questioned later, Sindorel explained that he had a "dark dream of blood flowing through the streets, and a violet eye weeping bodies, green fire reflected in its pupil." This would be the first sign of Sindorel's most ambiguous (and some might argue powerful) magics -- Oneiromancy, the power of foresight through dreams. Bewildered at the destruction of the city that had been his home for three years, Sindorel briefly returned to the Manse, if for no other reason than to confirm that he had survived Dalaran's dissolution to Lord Angeil and Lady Danica. Once certain that he secured House Felclar from would-be vultures, Sindorel resumed his obsessive studies of worlds beyond Azeroth -- and indeed, the Elemental Planes and other places that were beyond mundane sight. Unbeknownst to Sindorel, this excessive research on the planes was, at least in part, guided by Magderith, who still resided deep within the young mage's soul. It was no coincidence that Sindorel's primary focus during his time with the Kirin Tor was on the magic of Conjuration -- seeds of interest were planted, so surreptitious as to seem natural, by the Eredar that chose the Last Felclar as his vessel. In later years Sindorel would come to wonder how much of his discoveries were due to personal brilliance, and how much were in fact the secret whispers of Magderith within. Years into his studies, at the age of twenty-three (six years after graduating from Dalaran), Sindorel caught rumors of an ancient artifact buried somewhere in the snows of Alterac. Forming an expedition of Spellbinders and the Phoenix Guard (an elite force of House Felclar's militant branch), Sindorel struck out for the dilapidated mountain kingdom in search of the object, which he knew only as the 'Elder Orb.' He'd found it in the deeper recesses of House Felclar's histories, which claimed that the first Doriel Felclar had bound a being of impossible power to serve House Felclar using an artifact known as the Elder Orb. (WIP) Magderith's Downfall (WIP) Abilities, Magic, Artifacts Artifacts: * Kraus'Ghosa: A jagged sword made from an obscure alloy of metal and ore. Encrusted into its harsh toothy hilt is a garnet burning with faint magical fire. The sword is the ancestral House weapon of House Felclar, created at an unknown date, though the notes indicate that Kraus'Ghosa has existed as long as the House has. The weapon, if it were to be inspected by a weaponsmith, is nearly useless in combat; although a masterpiece of art and design, the blade is rough and blunt, hardly suited for dueling or open battle. The notes left behind by the earliest Lords of Felclar suggest that Kraus'Ghosa augments its wielder's strength with magical fire and any magic that affects the earth. More obscure notes have indicated that the weapon sheathes the wielder from being harmed by fire in general, and can make the owner's skin as hard as stone. For this reason, the Lord Sindorel Felclar is often seen carrying Kraus'Ghosa with him, as it affords both a strong defense and offense. * Gestalt Cube: The crystalline, clear, geometric device is of Lord Felclar's personal design; within are sapphire mana crystals that hum and glow softly at the touch. If set in a secure position and thus activated by tapping at the sigils in a particular order, the Cube converts corrupted energy into a purer substance. This method also transmutes Fel-tainted objects, and destroys a demon in order to recycle its essence. Sindorel claims that the Gestalt Cube is his greatest creation, both for its intricate genius and simplicity in design. * Globe of Serenity: A glassy sphere clutched by a golden claw; if focused on intently, the Globe heals the wounds of the one holding it. The notes attached to the artifact suggest that the Globe has a limit in its power, and can only be used so often before needing to lapse into a dormant recharging phase. Supposedly it can also heal the wounds of an entire group, though any notes on the artifact offer no insight as to how. * The Magi Queen's Scepter: A rose quartz disk is mounted atop an iron and gold pommel. The disk has glyphic patterns shaped into its design, shaped like an iris with an amethyst and sapphire pupil glaring out. Lord Tyartol Felclar I discovered the scepter on "the far reaches of the northern, frozen shores" (Travels, Compendium III) -- presumably a part of Lordaeron.* Tyartol attributed the scepter's title after a series of divinations revealed the Scepter's association with the Highborne kaldorei of ages yore. According to the Felclar scholars of that age, the Scepter allows its wielder to totally control the actions and desires of a small group of sentient beings, thus enthralling them to the Scepter's power. Those so compelled are filled with the overwhelming desire to obey and protect the Scepter's owner, even if doing so should equal death. For this reason, Lord Sindorel recently ordered the Magi Queen's Scepter should be locked into the deepest parts of the Menagerie for special protection. *- Recent discoveries by Lord Sindorel confirm that Lord Tyartol Felclar did not, in fact, discover the Scepter in Lordaeron. Lord Tyartol, unique among his ilk, made the magical trek to Northrend and discovered the Magi Queen's Scepter amidst a series of ruins reminiscent of the Highborne's architecture. * Mask of Mirrors: Perhaps an item of the House's creation, this velvet black mask covers the forehead and nose, with holes for the eyes. Silver stitching is edged around the cloth in an arcane pattern. When worn, the Mask of Mirrors places a powerful illusion over the wearer, and they need only visualize a person to mask themselves in that appearance. The Mask is limited to creating an illusion similar to that of the wearer's physical shape and size. Early attempts by the Felclar scholars indicate that one cannot mask themselves as a dragon, or a giant, and presumably anything of too great or too small a size. * Argentfoil: A thin steel wand, rounded as long as a forearm. Arcane sigils are written around the wand and glow with a faint otherworldly light. Argentfoil is a great prize for magi and casters in general, whose practices prevent the usage of heavy armor, for Argentfoil encases a target in an invisible protection stronger than a suit of finely crafted plate-mail. Lord Sindorel recently perused the dweomer of the wand further and discovered that Argentfoil can only shield two individuals in such a manner, for no longer than a period of one full day. Attempts to shield more than two cancelled its enchantment entirely, and would not function for several minutes. * The Summoner's Stave: A metallic central hilt has, on either side, three cool blue sigil stones floating serenely. Sindorel created this artifact himself to better expedite his conjurations. The six sigil stones can serve dual purposes: the six arrange into a six pointed star to enhance a single, more powerful summon, r each stone can be attuned to a lesser creature, to be summoned all at once or separately. In general the stave augments the power of Sindorel's conjuration spells while also empowering he strength of the creature being called. * Bejuril: A pair of brass bracelets, seemingly mundane in appearance. Crafted by the dwarves and enchanted by House Felclar, Bejuril is also called the Thundering Twins. When both bracelets are worn, intense storms can be created at the wearer's call in a localized area, and lightning can be called down at Bejuril's direction. Bejuril can harness lightning from a storm already existing. According to the long histories that surround Bejuril, the Felclar island fortress was protected many a time because of Bejuril's magic. There is some debate as to whether or not Bejuril truly came from House Felclar and their Dwarven trade partners. Magic: (WIP)